This was my first "climb" of any of the mountains I have tried to summit. I am relatively new to scrambling up the side of a mountain using all four extremities. I made it up to chicken point and called it good, as I wasn't completely comfortable climbing the rest of the way without ropes or more class 4 experience. I will try this one again next year after I have climbed a few others and feel a little more comfortable. It was a great day though for climbing and there were only about 7 others that my friend and I saw on the trail that day. I need to add that he made it to the top.

Great peak! The short section of class 4 on top was very fun (but too short!). Carried only a very light hydration pack. Roundtrip time was about 5 hrs. Talked briefly with Peter and his wife (or some couple anyway) on my way down. Use solid rock wherever possible to avoid the loose stuff. The loose stuff was more of a problem on the way down. Weather was excellent.

Fun climb! No skeeters this time around. Made it to the last 80ft, and climbed up with the wife. Not too scary if you can find the correct route. Hint for new climbers: about halfway up, look right/south around a boulder for the easy way up.

Rapped off the top, and the wife did great! The descent is made much easier if you stay on the ridge. We saw too many people too far to the south, on the sketchy scree. Trekking poles help.

Kudos to Brian Jenkins for some good beta on the climb via email. I love that about SP--you can email the experts for advice.

Camped out near trailhead on Tuesday night after a long drive from Portland; the mosquitoes where buzzing around the tent all night! Woke up early the next day and headed for the summit under dense clouds. Looking down while climbing the summit pinnacle made my sphincter tighten at times but reached the summit without much difficulty. The early morning clouds dispersed allowing a great view of Diamond Lake. Overall, an enjoyable climb.

Had always climbed it late season so snow most of the way was a treat. Peerlessly sunny day. GPSed our way right to the ridge. My climbing partner had plastic boots he'd brought along for Shasta and slick tennis shoes so.......he climbed the pinnacle barefoot. Fourth time up.

We (wife and dog ascended to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) intersection

for a family picnic) hiked in 4 miles to the PCT. With snow on the ground, you can lose the

trail. But you are basically ascending due east gaining a north-south ridge perpendicular to the

southwest summit ridge. You intersect the PCT at this point. I skinned up in back country

skis until the rock exposed final 1000' (top right). The scree was frozen making for an easy

steep hike at this point until the last 200' which was an exposed scramble that some will require

rope for.

I don't necessary recommend skies. For a faster round trip, with snow conditions I was faced with, I would just take crampons (in case there is ice towards the summit). I had snowshoes, skis, skins, TV, kitchen sink....kind of felt like I was on an expedition, but hey, the Cascades are not my back yard, so I did not know what to expect. On to Shasta!

With Mr. Kantola. Spindrift on the ridge. 50 mph winds on the summit. I think the summit pinnacle was swaying. Off route and separated on the descent. Other than that, perfect! My fifth Cascade volcano winter attempt and second summit.

Great climb on a beutiful day. Only saw 3 other people and had very little wind at the top. The class 3-4 climb was really fun. It was pretty easy, and that is coming from a guy who has little rock climbing background. We did have a little experience with falling rock, caused by our party. We had one of the larger boulders near the summit go crashing down when we were testing for rappel anchor points. Pretty amazing experince, although not one I would like to relive. Just be careful of those huge rocks that look like they are stationary.

Uneventful climb except for making the mistake of trying to climb the west ridge proper for the last 80ft or so. Lot's of exposure and more like 5.5 or so. After climbing up 30ft I was faced with an exposed move and decided I had better downclimb and accept defeat. Before heading down though I decided to check out the other side of the summit block and was pleased to find the class 3/4 route that is typically mentioned. Climbed this to the summit without incident.

I had business in the little town of Glide and finished up at four and headed for my next meeting in Klamath Falls so made a last minute decision to give Thielsen a try. Five or six years ago I hiked up to the PCT junction but was stopped by deep snow (not to mention the formidable appearance of this mountain!). Tuesday, 7/20 was a great day with a large high pressure system moving in and clearing skies so the conditions couldn't have been better. I didn't really think I'd make the summit since I didn't get started 'til quarter past five but the trail is in great shape with a very even grade so the first four miles to the PCT junction took less than an hour. The trail above the PCT is pretty good too until you get to the scree. This mountain looks very formidable from the west side but is really not that bad and I was surprised to find it fairly easy going as I approached the summit pinnacle. That last 80 feet has some exposure but the holds are great. There was little wind and the summit temperature was in the 50's. I lost my GPS at the summit when it fell out of my fanny pack and didn't discover it was gone until I had descended about 500 vertical feet so I got to climb the top twice! Unfortunately, I did not locate the GPS, which had evidently fallen down between some of those big rocks at the summit. No time for a thorough search as I was rapidly losing daylight. Time for a new GPS anyway! Total time up about 2:10 and 1:15 down. Adding the time at the top and the time to re-climb the top made it 4:10 total. I highly recommend this hike/climb. The views are fantastic from the summit and you can even see a bit of the surface of Crater Lake from the top. Oh yeah, if you find my GPS before it gets zapped by lightning I'll give you a reward to get it back to me - please drop me a line! Thanks - dn.

Finally made the chance to summit this awesome looking peak. Another late start (we didn’t start going up Bachelor until almost 11.30) was in order, after Lara & I made the (right!!) decision to hang out with Frostbite at Sparks Lake the night before.

Left the trailhead at 10.26. Pretty trail before hooking up with the PCT right below timberline, but the mosquitoes there were murderous (they don’t seem to have that blessed intolerance to the middle of the day like most of the little f@$!ers do). The form of that mountain is quite intimidating when gaining the ridge (especially with clouds swirling around the summit, which they did for much of the day). We encountered a wide variety of people going up the peak, including a surprising number in T-shirts & shorts seemingly without warm clothes, rain gear, extra water or food (with their families- quite large in some cases- in the same situation)- reminded me a lot of Yosemite. At any rate, despite my misgivings about the swirling clouds around the summit pinnacle, as well as the grey & black ones headed for it, we pressed on.

Before I knew it, we were at the base of the summit pinnacle- it looked really cool! After briefly checking it out to figure out the best way up it, it didn’t take long before we were on the true summit (I arrived 14.06). While there’s certainly exposure there, if you’re comfortable going up (& down) 4th class terrain, you shouldn’t have a problem with it. As soon as we arrived, these trippy fast-moving foggy clouds started to converge on us, & only glimpses of the surroundings could be had (a shame!). The clouds made me nervous, & after signing some paper & putting it in the summit register without a lid & snapping some shots, we made a hasty retreat (leaving 14.14). The weather continued to be spotty around the summit (& all around the surrounding area) on the way down, & we never got any good views of the volcanoes to the north.

After an eternity, got back to the TH @ 18.00. We put our stuff away while enjoying a brew each, before heading over to Crater Lake (a must-see in Oregon!).

Definitely one of the cooler summits I’ve done (sweet summit pinnacle & views!!), in an amazing place, with great company!

The bugs are out in full force and the scree is as good as it gets, but that impressive look of the mountain and the last 80' scramble makes this climb worth. A fun short climb.

West Ridge, July 5, 2002

First alpine rock experience. Impressive looking mountain, but it is much easier than it looks. Lots of good holds up the summit pinnacle. Scree and loose stuff going up, crowded on a hot summer weekend.

A cool climb. When we started it was clear, by the time we summitted it was pelting hail on us. We heard some thunder and got down below the peak as fast as we could. This peak is known as the lightning rod of the Cascades and we now know why!